How big a bump will cause damage at highway speed?

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

rationull

Joined
Apr 28, 2007
Messages
2,789
Location
California, USA
My car has decent enough ride quality overall but does have relatively stiff suspension tuning, along with fairly low profile tires and a medium-short wheelbase. Consequently going over bumps at freeway speed (talking about things like "surprise" steel plates from road work or boundaries between new vs old pavement when repaving stretches of road, etc) can sound and feel pretty violent. Potholes too although generally those are easier to avoid. Sometimes I worry about potential damage but I have yet to detect any.

I know in extreme cases (bigger potholes, higher speeds, or of course running over bigger bumps like curbs) it's possible to pop tires, bend wheels, or theoretically damage the suspension, but having never done so I don't really know how much it takes to get there.

Figured I'd see if anyone had any interesting and informative anecdotes about this issue that they wanted to discuss. In what situations have you been surprised by a bump, debris or whatever that you had to run over and actually incurred damage to the rolling stock or the suspension?
 
Rolling over the edge of a plate or a seam in a road is WELL WITHIN the capability of a suspension. Its built to handle things like this with ease. That along with the occasional pothole is just part of the typical life of a vehicle. You are over thinking this. If your tires didn't sustain damage, just relax and drive on. Your car is fine.
 
I can tell you of the time I picked up relatives at the airport in my car. 5 people and all that luggage in the trunk, too.

Came out of the airport and picked up some speed on the freeway. Jockeying for position in traffic and WHAM, hit a gigantic hole at 70 mph!

I have 35 series tires, no damage of any kind.
 
My car is stock height and had it packed up from camping...lets just say hitting potholes made it sound like the tire was hitting the wheel well...

I say, you dont live in Montreal so dont worry about it!
I think we have the worst roads in North America, pathetic considering the taxes we pay. That said I know people who had to replace tires, ball joints, and other various suspension parts. Im about to go and replace a wheel bearing..although i dont know the cause of it going bad..

I think you will be fine, no need to worry.
 
You should see the potholes on some of the roads in NY, they'll swallow a small car. I can tell you from first hand experience they take their toll on the suspension and front end. Then there are the car graves, I hit one several years ago that knocked the alignment so far out I had to get a tire-rod replaced and an alignment. Immediately after hitting it I was able to change lanes by simply letting go of the steering wheel. What sucks is some of these graves fill with water during the rain, and seeing them at night at highway speeds is very tough. Sometimes you get lucky, other times like in my case not so lucky.
 
The worst road I traveled on in California was better than the best road I have traveled on in Western Pennsylvania. This area has huge potholes, horribly recessed manhole covers, and at one point there was pretty much a speed bump on one of the main highways in the area. The roads are probably better in most third world countries.

I had a Neon that I bought new and sold with 185k on it, the only steering/suspension component that I had to change in that time was an outer tie rod end, so I am going to say that a big bump at highway speeds will cause no damage.
 
I was in a parking lot once after a light snow fall.
Everything around was WHITE.

I see a medium size car driving thru (20 MPH) and they hit a 'island' curb at 90 degrees.
With everything white, they never saw it.
It made a loud noise and lifted the front of vehicle quite a bit.
Some people learn the hard way.

That had to be a shock, and done some damage.

Other then that, I figure vehicles can drive over smaller bumps with no problem.
But I still try to be careful.
 
I hit a pothole in my 1988 Suburban 3/4-ton in Elkhart, Indiana. It ruined a tire, and from there on, the rear-end had a growl in it, which I think was a damaged axle bearing. It was a winter day, and I was only going about 45 mph, but it was a deep, wide pothole. The kind that make you cuss when you hit it. I cussed for 3 minutes straight without repeating myself.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
We have a t-shirt in Michigan that says "No I am not driving drunk, I'm dodging potholes."


In my experience, Michigan and Pennsylvania have the worst roads! SO many frickin' craters!
 
NY has some bad pot holes. PA has the WORST.

While driving through PA on I-81 I hit a pothole (really had no choice as the bridge was full of them) that ruined my wheel bearing and bent a wheel.

About the worst I did in NY was hit a pothole and trip the inertia switch.
 
Originally Posted By: FZ1
It all depends on how much air you get off the bumps.


Tell that one to my Wife!

She doesn't think a car is any good until she gets it to her favorite humped RR crossing and gets at least 3 feet of air!!!
 
Originally Posted By: hypervish
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
We have a t-shirt in Michigan that says "No I am not driving drunk, I'm dodging potholes."


In my experience, Michigan and Pennsylvania have the worst roads! SO many frickin' craters!

Loozyana's in there too. Not so much craters, though you'll find those all over Noo Awlins, but rough surfaces and bad joins between the rough concrete slabs . It's exhausting to drive here.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Rand
Pirelli Scorpion AS PLUS 3 225/60r18 Review
2
Replies
27
Views
5K
FZ1
pezzy84
Rental car review - 2025 Toyota Camry SE Hybrid - middling fuel economy
Replies
19
Views
16K
RhondaHonda
JD!
One year ownership review - 2021 BMW 530e PHEV
Replies
5
Views
2K
JD!
L
Automotive theory: tire sizes (how is this decided?)
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
dumkid
Hermann
Rental review of the 2022 Audi Q5
Replies
7
Views
3K
Hermann
Back
Top Bottom